La Hire

La Hire (1390-11 January 1443) was a French military commander during the Hundred Years' War.

Biography
Etienne de Vignolles was born in 1390, and he joined the Dauphin Charles in 1418, when the English army invaded France. Despite not being of noble birth, he was a very capable military leader, and his nickname "La Hire" came from the Latin phrase "Ira Dei", meaning "the Wrath of God". He fought at the Battle of Bauge in 1421, and La Hire and Jean de Dunois relieved Montargis in 1427. He was a close comrade of Joan of Arc, being one of few military commanders to believe in her abilities, and he commanded the vanguard at the Battle of Patay, one of Joan's greatest triumphs. In 1430, he captured Chateau-Gaillard, and he became Captain General of Normandy in 1438. In 1440, he assisted Dunois in capturing Pontoise, and he assisted Charles, Duke of Orleans in taking La Reole in 1442. He died in Montauban in 1443.